Manic.Monday: A brush with water decals

For being a self confessed polishaholic, I have experimented surprisingly little with nail art and the furthest I've gone into the realm of different nail art techniques is to apply gemstones (surprise, surprise...) or using self adhesive nail stickers so when I got a selection of gorgeous water decals* from Born Pretty the time had come for me to go forth and explore the wonderful world of nail art. I wanted to do something summery with fresh contrasts so as a base for the look I used Barry M nail paint (£2.99) in Matte White. Barry M is one of my go to brands and I have to say that I've got more of their nail polishes than I can count. The consistency of this particular shade is ever so slightly different than the others in that it's a tiny bit more runny which means that you only need the smallest of drops of product for it to cover your nail, which would also help to minimise any mess of excess polish on cuticles etc. Even though the formula is a bit more difficult to work with, the pigmentation is fairly strong for a light shade and far from sheer, although I would definitely recommend that you apply two coats for a nice opaque solid color, which isn't really an effort since each coat will dry quite quickly. Matte White is a lovely crisp, clean and fresh look for summer, perfect for enhancing a tan and despite being a matte finish you still get a lovely and natural shine that lasts for about 3-4 days on its own before it starts to chip.

Having let the white base dry properly I moved on to try my luck with the beautiful water decals*. I absolutely loved the abstract brushstrokes in azure blue with gold specks and I was very excited to see how they actually turned out on the nail, and if they were easy to work with. When it comes to water decals, the clue is in the name and you basically need to plunge them into water to get them pliable enough for sticking them onto the nail. According to the instructions, you should peel the film off the decal before you dip it into water, but I found it impossible to take the film off while dry, so I would recommend that you simply cut out the shape of the decal then put it in the water for up to a minute and when you take it out, it'll already have started to come away from the paper making it very easy to transfer onto the nail using a pair of tweezers. After you've placed the decal on your nail, you soak up any excess water with a cotton pad or some tissue - blast the nail under a blow dryer for about 20 secs so that the decal is completely soft and dry, and then finish off by sealing it in on the nail with a top coat. Once the decal has set on the nail, it'll last for about 4-5 days and it's also surprisingly easy to remove with a good dip and twist nail polish remover, taking no more than a few seconds to remove.

I do like the effect and having got the hang of the technique now, I think that with more practice and experimenting with different colors and also other accents, you can create some really wonderful look, however I also have to say that it is quite fiddly and a fair amount of work just to get a decal on your nail - approximately 5-6 mins for each nail that you decide to decorate. As much as I love different nail looks, personally I prefer a simple self adhesive sticker to the effort you have to put in with a water decal, but if you have some time to spare you should definitely give it a go and see how you get on with it and Born Pretty has a great selection of all kinds of nail art for next to nothing and they always have great offers on, including free worldwide delivery. To make it even more difficult to resist, you get an additional 10% off on whatever you treat yourself to when you enter the discount code CANW10, so head over to Born Pretty and embrace your creative side for some unique, eye catching nails.